Liverpool Life "And the "World Famous Shaolin Wu-Shu Warriors" were skilled at what they did, but there was a bit too much of them waving bendy swords around and shouting. I think the problem is that films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the Matrix have fused martial arts and special effects in a way that makes anything else look tame by comparison." -- Adrian Butler of the Liverpool Echo reviews the Chinese State Circus which I can see from my window and is featured in a photo not that far down the page.

It's going to be a busy day on the parade field tomorrow as the circus is joined by the annual Liverpool half marathon. In fact looking out now there are more tents and caravans than some camp sites in North Wales. But you know what the real excitement will be? Watching people park. I'm sure the stewards stand around taking bets on whether some of these drivers can fit into the gaps between cars without crunching.

Film For me, Anthony Rapp will forever be Daryl 'Straydog' Coopersmith from Chris Columbus magnum opus Adventures in Babysitting, because y'know "no one leavin' this place without singin' the blues' ". It transpires that he's also in Columbus' adaptation of the musical rent which still awaits release in the UK but has apparently already turned up on dvd in the US. The AV review the commentary. Typical quote:

"Columbus: "Some asshole in Variety said that the cinematography, the compositions were poor. I thought, 'What the fuck are you thinking? What movie have you seen?' The cinematography is some of the best I've ever seen. It's just all good."

Gang member: "Don't fuck with the Lords of Hell."Chris Parker: "Don't fuck with the babysitter."

[Let's not forget that Babysitting also features The West Wing's Bradley Whitford's seminal performance as Mike Todwell and Law and Order's Vincent D'Onofrio as Thor. Films were more fun in the eighties weren't they?]

Life Still here. I'm spliting my time between soul searching, writer's block and marathon viewings of The West Wing which really got its mojo back in the sixth season. I mean a female British Prime Minister, a name check for The Guardian and Christopher Lloyd playing Lawrence Lessig in the same episode?

Life Trauma over. The filling has been replaced. I left the dentist about twenty minutes ago and things have changed somewhat in ten years. My heart pounded all of the way through, from entering the waiting room, filling in the registration form to sitting in the chair. But the staff were polite and matter of fact, especially the dentist who talked me through everything he was going to do as though it's perfectly common place for another man to put his hands in your mouth and drill some of it away. It's reasonably disconcerting to be negotiating the price of the check up and filling during the procedure though."I'd like to use a white filling which is a white enamel and has better adhesive.""Huu.""Although it is slightly more expensive than the silvery national health material.""Hae.""£6.60 for the other. £25 for the white enamel.""Huhuh.""Right. I'd like a green, nurse."So my mouth will be numb for at least another hour, but even that was more local than last time, when I couldn't even close my lips. This just feels uncomfortably like I've been hit in the jaw which means I can pretend that I was in a fist fight this morning. Suddenly I feel really hungry.

Comedy "Silverman has two advantages comics here perhaps don't - she performs to a nation still a little more innocent, still capable of being challenged by comedy. Her other is that she doesn't do characters - or rather she does only one character - the beyond-Sarah, the Frankenstein Sarah. 'I actually think of it as a character,' she says. 'I mean, I don't have a weird voice or always have to be angry. I'm completely myself on stage. I talk the way I talk and I move the way I move, but inside, I think she's more obnoxious, ignorant yet arrogant.'" -- Alex Renton of The Observer profiles Sarah Silverman

Podcasting "Man1: If you're taking young sensitive gives to see Lassie which is obviously a family movie there is a single instance in it which these is a canine death which is clearly not Lassie because then that would be Death of Lassie as oppose to Lassie Come Home, but obviously wouldn't have many takers with Death of Lassie.Man2: Well I don't know. I think there's a whole cabal of film critics out there who would pay good money to see Death of Lassie."